Pixies - "Bagboy"

Seemingly out of nowhere comes the brand new song by the Kim Deal-less Pixies, called “Bagboy.” The song and video came out on Friday, but I wanted to give it some time before I made a final decision. Well… it’s awful.

First off, it doesn’t even sound like a Pixies song. I get that they need to change up their sound a bit so they’re not just rehashing their late 80s/early 90s indie sound, but they’ve updated it to sound like a late 90s Fun Lovin’ Criminals throwaway song. It features a bizarre chant alongside Frank Black’s talk-singing style previously heard in “Subbaculture.” At no point does the tempo change from its mid-tempo plod, and drives straight into boredom. Kim leaving is a huge deal, so the absolute last thing they would want to do is bring in someone to sing who sounds just like Kim, right? So they do, bringing in Frank Black’s friend Jeremy Dubs for the chorus. Black says it’s a coincidence, but he sounds enough like Kim that Black had to address the internet reports that it was recorded with Kim.

Maybe I’m the wrong person to ask, since this Pixies reunion has been monumentally disappointing to me. I bought tickets to see two of the reunion shows in the same week and saw virtually the exact same show (the Avalon one was shorter than the Tsongas Arena one). I was stunned at how the songs were played virtually no emotion. Everyone else I know seems to be happy with seeing them live, so maybe I’m wrong with this new direction they are taking. But, I can’t imagine many fans will like this.